


Bedridden

by Lucifers_Trash_Stash



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Nice Merle Dixon, One Shot, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 09:18:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16951269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucifers_Trash_Stash/pseuds/Lucifers_Trash_Stash
Summary: Merle takes care of you when you fall ill.





	Bedridden

**Author's Note:**

> This drabble was written with the dialogue prompts “What’s the matter, sweetie?” “Take your medicine.” and “I feel like I can’t breathe.” I hope you enjoy <3

You whined softly, curling up on your side as you tried to control your breathing. The cot in the prison cell you shared with Merle wasn’t the most comfortable place to wait out your allergies, but there was no where else you could feel comfortable.

Your nose was stuffy, and breathing so shallowly from your mouth made it feel like there was a weight pressed onto your chest. Thankfully Rick had excused you from any other duties you would have had today, so you could relax and try your best to sleep it off. Except it was impossible to sleep when you felt like you weren’t getting enough air into your lungs.

As you were about to turn over again, you noticed Merle slip into the cell quietly. The two of you hadn’t been an item for long, maybe a few weeks at most. Merle was a bit much to deal with at times with his testy attitude and constant flirting, so you hoped he wouldn’t make too much of a big deal out of a little bit of seasonal allergies. 

Merle sat on the bed beside you, giving you a lopsided smile as he rubbed his hand on your thigh. “What’s the matter, sweetie?” he asked softly.

“I feel like I can’t breathe,” you mumbled, squinting up at him with a sleepy expression. “My eyes itch, my nose is both stuffy and drippy at the same time, and I can’t fall asleep.”

Merle sighed and brought his hand to your face, brushing your hair back. You leaned into his hand, enjoying the warm feeling it brought. You pouted when he took it away again.

“It’d help if ya were sittin’ up, ya know,” Merle said, reaching behind your head to try to prop your pillows up better.

“But it’s uncomfortable,” you whined, but ultimately sat up so he could stack the pillows up behind you anyways.

Merle chuckled and continued, “Tough shit, sweetheart. Gotta listen ta me if ya wanna get better.” You rolled your eyes. This was the Merle you were most familiar with. But still, you let him continue. It was nice that he was taking the time out of his day to do this for you in the first place, and you didn’t want to seem too ungrateful so he’d continue to do it in the future.

Once he was satisfied with how you were situated, he stood up and made his way to the door. “Gonna find ‘ol Hershel. See if he’s got anything ta help.”

You pulled the covers up a bit more and took a deep breath. It helped a bit, but you still hoped that Merle would bring back something to ease the pain, if only for a little while.

After dozing in and out of sleep a few times, your eyes darted to the door when Merle slipped back in. He had a water bottle tucked into the crook of his elbow with his prosthetic, and held something in his good hand. Merle sat back down on the bed next to you and said, “Alright honey, open up. Take yer medicine.”

He brought his fingers up to your mouth and let him put the pills inside. He opened up the water for you and you took a big gulp. The water was perfect, you hadn’t realized how dry your mouth had gotten from breathing through it instead of your nose. After you’d had enough, you put the cap back on and gave it to Merle, who set it on the floor next to the cot.

“That’s it,” Merle praised as he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead. You were surprised at the sudden move of tenderness from him, but you weren’t going to question it. “Now, ya drink it all up after yer nap, alright? Don’t want ya getting dehydrated or nothin.”

You nodded, thankful Merle worried enough about you to take care of you like this. It was nice, considering that for a while you wondered he only liked you because you slept with him. If anything, this proved it wasn’t the case.

Merle, feeling awkward in the lingering moment of silence, made a move to stand up. “Well, I better leave ya to it then,” he said, looking away from you quickly as if he was embarrassed to have even showed feelings for you.

You quickly grabbed his hand before he was out of your reach, and he looked back at you with a confused look. “Please stay with me until I fall asleep,” you said, squeezing his hand softly in yours.

Merle sat back down on the edge of the bed, his tongue poking against his cheek like he usually did when he was trying to think. You smiled, it was a cute quirk of his that you enjoyed seeing in him. It made him less of the asshole that others seemed to paint him as and more of the kindhearted man that even Merle had a hard time realizing and accepting was there.

“Thank you Merle,” you muttered as you closed your eyes and nuzzled your head against the pillow. You still held his hand, and smiled when his thumb brushed small circles against the skin.

“Yer welcome sweetheart,” he whispered,  and with that you found it easier to drift to sleep knowing that Merle was there watching over you.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to keep up with me, check out my tumblr @lucifers-trash-stash :D


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